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Justification & Regeneration

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I Corinthians 11:23-26
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Confessing the Wonders of – Justification & Regeneration

Endless thanksgiving, around the Throne, with all the redeemed of all the ages: that is what salvation prompts in the hearts of believers.

Endless Thanksgiving For Our Salvation

Justification & Regeneration

Each time we gather to celebrate communion, we are part of what we could call a simulcast, that is going on both globally and celestially. We are all focused on the same One who as the Lamb of God died for our sins on the Cross.

Globally, we are part of every confessing believer, in every genuine church that honors Christ as the Divine, Virgin-born, Son of God whose Vicarious, Substitutionary, sacrificial death completely paid the price for our sins.

When Jesus instituted the celebration of the Lord’s Supper for His Church, He began a tie that would bind all believers, through all the ages together. When we proclaim Christ’s death on our behalf, and in our place, we are confessing that we are a part of those who will someday surround the Throne.

There is only one song that we are told is being sung in Heaven—it is the song of every believer, of all the ages, gathered to worship the Lamb. That song in mentioned in Revelation three times (5:9; 14:3; 15:3), and always is tied to the Lamb and also to His redemption. That is the wonder.

When we get to Heaven we have something shared with everyone else who is there: Christ was slain to redeem us. That is the new song of Heaven. Look for a moment at the scene of worship in Heaven.

The Worship of The Slain Lamb

Revelation 5:8-14 Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 And have made us kings and priests to our God;

And we shall reign on the earth.”
11 Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne, the living creatures, and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice:
“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying:
“Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”
14 Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever.
The Worship from The Redeemed

Revelation 14:1-3 Then I looked, and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand, having His Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven, like the voice of many waters, and like the voice of loud thunder. And I heard the sound of harpists playing their harps. 3 They sang as it were a new song before the throne, before the four living creatures, and the elders; and no one could learn that song except the hundred and forty-four thousand who were redeemed from the earth.

Revelation 15:1-4 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete.
2 And I saw something like a sea of glass mingled with fire, and those who have the victory over the beast, over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, having harps of God. 3 They sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying:
“Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the saints! 4 Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. For all nations shall come and worship before You, For Your judgments have been manifested.”

All Worship Meets at the Cross

 

Before the Cross all sacrifices offered in faith looked forward to the sacrifice of Christ.

For some Christ was portrayed in the substitute sacrificed at the Tabernacle, or at the Temple..

For some Christ was portrayed in the substitute sacrificed on an altar before there was any Tabernacle.

For some it was believing that only God could forgive and save them.

Since the Cross, we look back at the price He paid in His own Body on the Tree.

But whether before or after, for all who meet in Heaven: it is about the Cross

That is also the tie that binds every one of us believers at the Table to Christ and to each other. We share that amazing connection—we have a common confession with every individual believing servant of God alive today: either on earth or in Heaven.

By that one very powerful link with all the churches around the world that are faithfully following Christ’s Word—we are celebrating a Communion of confessing Christ.

Throughout all the history of Christ’s church, we with them:

Proclaim Christ At Communion

As we open to I Corinthians 11:23-26 please notice what our Lord Jesus instructed Paul to point each believer to do at Communion—the link that ties us all: past, present, and future. Please stand as we listen to the voice of God:

1 Corinthians 11:23-26 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread;24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes. NKJV

Every time we participate in a celebration of the Lord’s Supper or Communion, we are continuing our affirmation of salvation.

That is exactly what the tense of the verb “proclaim” states. It is a present, active, ongoing action. We are to PROCLAIM1 Christ.

There it is, the powerful, strong link that connects every believer across the world past present and future—we are all proclaiming, declaring as true, saying the same thing—about Christ saving us, as we remember Him at the Lord’s Supper.

So we have gathered as Christ’s Confessing Church. “Confessing” means ‘to say the same thing’ that God says. We gather to confess what God did through Christ on our behalf.

We gather to agree with God as we shall throughout all the ages of eternity, about the wonder of Christ’s work of redemption on the Cross.

First, We Confess the Wonder of Our Forgiveness

Because of our sin—we are all debtors to God’s Righteousness; so we need forgiveness. Listen to these life-giving words in the Scriptures, and then hold on in your hearts: the truth of what God has done for us.  “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:12). God said all my sins are gone.

Forgiveness. Nothing matters more to any who have sinned—and God says all have sinned.

A moment before you draw your last breath, one thing will matter more than anything else—whether you are dying forgiven or unforgiven.

The peace you can have one moment before dying is available on a daily basis if you understand what God has done in Christ and choose to respond by faith to Him.

Celebrate forgiveness in Jesus Christ by confessing (agreeing with God) that forgiveness is only in Christ. We do this by saying aloud together:

“Thank you Jesus for forgiving me.” Second, We Confess the Wonder of Our Redemption

Because of our sin—we are all slaves to unrighteousness, so we need redemption. Jesus died to take slaves and make them forever free—that’s redemption! A Sinner stands before God as a slave and is granted freedom by Christ’s payment.

Christ’s death to pay the price of our sin is so wonderful that, as Revelation records, we, the redeemed of all the ages, will join the angels, and together we sing a new song— REVELATION 5:12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!” (NKJV) We celebrate redemption in Jesus Christ by confessing (agreeing with God) that redemption is only in Christ. Do this by saying aloud together:

“Thank you Jesus for redeeming me.”

Third, We Confess the Wonder of Our Justification

Because of our sin—we are all guilty convicts in God’s sight; so we need justification.

Jesus died to take guilty convicts and destroy any record a crime was ever committed, and take their places in the punishment—that’s justification!

In Justification, we go from being accused and guilty before God to being righteous and with no record of wrongs.

We need to experience what the Scriptures often declare—God has once and for all, through Christ’s sacrifice, justified us.

That means He has accused us, declared us guilty of sin, then made us righteous and forever deleted the record of all our wrongs.

• ROMANS 8:33-34: “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.”

I have been justified; and by Christ justifying me, and because the record has been erased—I am free now & forever from condemnation.

• I CORINTHIANS 6:17: “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.”

By Christ justifying me—I am forever united with the Lord.

• EPHESIANS 1:4, “… just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.”

By Christ justifying me—I was chosen by Jesus to be holy and blameless in his sight.

• EPHESIANS 2:6, “…and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

By Christ justifying me—I am already seated with Christ in Heaven.

Celebrate justification in Jesus Christ by confessing (agreeing with God) that justification is only in Christ. Do this by saying aloud together:

“Thank you Jesus for justifying me.”

Fourth, We Confess the Wonder of Our Regeneration

Because of our sin—we are all dead in our trespasses, so we need regeneration.

Jesus died to take us, we who are dead in our sins, and bring us to life.

We are welcomed as family members, full of endless life and brand new—that’s regeneration!

In Regeneration, we go from dead and decaying to alive and overflowing. He has sought us out in our dead and decaying condition, breathed eternal life into us, and brought us into His family by the new birth.

Then He comes to live within us so we are forever having an abundant and overflowing, eternal life.  I CORINTHIANS 12:27, “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.”

Because Jesus regenerated me—I am a member of Christ’s Body.

 I JOHN 5:18, “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.”

Because Jesus regenerated me—I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.

Celebrate regeneration in Jesus Christ by confessing (agreeing with God) that regeneration is only in Christ. Do this by saying aloud together:

“Thank you Jesus for regenerating me.”

That Means we should Confess Jesus Regularly

Satan is the Accuser and wants us to only remember all the many times we have fallen; and delights in the days, weeks, or months he can keep us condemning ourselves for what we’ve done.

That is his plan, so don’t fall for it.

Resist Satan.

As you believe the truth, speak the truth, and preach the Gospel to yourself.

God says, whenever we fall down, to just turn back to Him and repent—confessing our sin immediately— and believe what God has promised in His salvation.

We are forgiven, redeemed, justified, and regenerated.

That makes us precious in His sight, special in His plan.

Slowly, as you understand and lay hold on these truths a life-changing transformation take place in our minds, and then in our emotions, and finally throughout our entire life as we live each day based on God’s eternal truth.

Go back and say aloud these foundational truths of our salvation.

You will feel his secure arms around you as you do so

 

1 This is the Greek word katangello, a verb, 10x in the New Testament meaning: “to announce, declare, promulgate, make known; to proclaim publicly, publish…”

 


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